Broken
by Kyrie Snape
Summary: What would happen if the one you loved tried to kill your son? What would you do? How would you cope? WARNING: THIS IS A DARK FIC with character death, insanity, and mentions of child abuse. It does make mention of an established HP/SS slash pairing.


Title: Broken

Author: Kyrie

Rating: R

Warnings: Character Death, Mention of Child Abuse, Insanity

Words: 1063

Beta: Abigail Lupin

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my warped imagination… don't believe me, ask my cat!

In response to the Severus *sighs* challenge to use at least one of the following in a dark fic...: (1) Severus sat staring out the window, watching the shadows ebb and flow. (2) "No! Don't do this to me. Please, don't do this to me," he keened, rocking backwards and forwards on his knees. (3) Severus looked down in shock at the blood on his hands. It all seemed… so much more real, now. (4) "Wait. Please… Don't go," Severus begged in a pleading whisper as he felt his entire world break apart.

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Broken

Severus sat staring out the window, watching the shadows ebb and flow as the door opened. As always, he never turned his head or acknowledged the blonde man who entered the room, nor the child whose hand he held.

Lucius Malfoy looked at the broken shell of the man he'd once called his best friend. With everything that the Dark Lord and that old fool, Albus Dumbledore, had put Severus through, Lucius had thought that nothing could break the proud man. But he'd been wrong. So terribly wrong, he thought, looking down at the child he'd brought with him.

Most people thought he was mad for bringing the child to visit Severus. Maybe they were right. But he and Cissy had decided that when Jamie grew old enough to ask about his parents, they would not lie to him. They loved the child they'd taken in as a toddler six years ago just as if he were their own child, but they wanted to make sure that he knew that his parents had also loved him. And a small part of Lucius always hoped that seeing Jamie and how like Harry he looked, would be enough to break through the constant fog that Severus lived in now.

As Lucius watched the eight-year-old, climb up on the bed beside Severus, showing him the pictures he'd drawn for him and chatting away as if the older man was conversing back, he found himself slipping back in time to that day.

-SS-

Lucius was worried about Severus. He'd not seen his friend in a week and the last conversations he'd had with Severus sat heavily on his mind.

"I'm telling you, Lucius. There is something going on with Harry. He's stopped seeing his friends, he's stopped flying and he hardly has anything to do with Jamie. You know how much he loves our son. This all started after he found and destroyed that second diary that the Dark Lord had created."

"You don't think it was a horcrux?"

"No. That we know for sure, but I'm not sure that there wasn't some kind of latent Dark Curse on it that has, for lack of a better word, infected Harry."

That had been the last time Lucius had spoken to Severus. About a week later, Lucius had Fire-called Severus only to be answered by a two-year-old Jamie. Neither Severus nor Harry ever left Jamie unattended. There were too many of the Dark Lord's sympathizers who had gone unpunished for them to risk it.

Lucius had promptly Flooed to the Potter-Snape home, fearing that Harry's condition had somehow worsened and knowing how very much Severus loved his husband, Lucius knew that it would be too hard for Severus to handle a delusional Harry while trying not to harm him.

Lucius heard Severus pleading with Harry as soon as he stepped out of the Floo and rushed towards the voices. Unfortunately, he was a couple of steps behind young Jamie, and that was a fact that would haunt him forever. Because he was sure that what happened next would have been avoided if only he'd reached that room first.

As Lucius had reached the open door he saw Severus on the floor in front of Harry, covered in blood.

"No! Don't do this to me. Please, don't do this to me," he keened, rocking backwards and forwards on his knees.

What had Harry done to make his stubbornly proud husband beg in such a manner? And where was all the blood coming from?

Jamie had made a small sound, causing Harry to change his focus. And to this day, Lucius couldn't explain how the events of the next few minutes unfolded in the manner they did.

Harry had looked back at Severus, then turning he briefly caught Lucius' eye and Lucius swore that for a moment, the man that Severus had married had stared out of that deranged face and begged for help with his eyes. But the split second passed and before Lucius could react, and Harry had cast the Cruciatus Curse at his young son.

Lucius had grabbed up the screaming toddler, while Severus had grabbed Harry's wand arm.

"Release him, Harry! You'll kill him!," screamed Severus.

But there had been no stopping him and in the end, just as Lucius pulled his wand, Harry crumpled to the floor, a dagger protruding from beneath his ribs.

Severus had killed his husband to save his son. And the only thing Lucius could think in that moment was that he was grateful that Jamie had passed out from the pain of the curse and not seen his father kill his daddy.

Lucius stared in horror at the scene before him as Severus looked down in shock at the blood on his hands.

-SS-

And now, here at St. Mungo's, watching Jamie talk to his father It all seemed...so much more real, now.

Jamie had suffered no lasting effects from the Cruciatus, but the same could not be said of Severus, who had not spoken since. In the end, Severus had been admitted to St. Mungo's and Lucius and Narcissa had taken custody of Jamie, as per the will of Harry Potter-Snape, until such time as his father, became able to assume his parenting duties.

Jamie hugged the unresponsive man sitting on the bed and whispered, "I love you, father," before walking over and taking Lucius' hand.

The pair took one last look at the broken man sitting there staring at the walls before they walked out of the room, closing the door behind them.

They never heard the soft entreaty.

"Wait. Please... Don't go," Severus begged in a pleading whisper as he felt his entire world break apart… again.


End file.
